One hundred years later...
Sathis approached the objective of his mission.
His feet were just beginning to grow weary from the day's journey up the snow-covered mountain trail, but he knew the climax of the day's events was only just about to begin. The sun had already begun to set, bowing its head to the jagged peaks of the Skycatcher mountains, casting dim shadows against the snow. Sathis' labored footsteps brought him to the doorstep of an intricately designed temple, just in time for the sun to melt against the horizon.
As darkness descended upon the holy site, it seemed as if all the air in Sathis' lungs was being drawn out against his will. The pending completion of this sort of assignment always brought a host of nerves. He paused a moment to control his breathing, and his pristine blue eyes caught something - someone - darting out close by. He was being followed, and sloppily so.
Attempting to ignore his stalker for the time-being, Sathis pushed open the stone doors with both of his hands, not stopping to marvel at the complexity and detail of the inscriptions that had been carved into the stone. The interior of the temple was no less magnificent; gilded archways reached high to the ceilings and exquisitely detailed statues of angelic beings embraced every corner.
A host of Sacreds - priests and monks in service of the Divine Mother - were making their way through the main hall, lighting candles. One of them noticed Sathis' approach and broke away from his retinue to greet the frost-worn traveller, bowing low as they closed the distance between them. "Welcome to the temple of the God-Empress. May your burdens be lifted under her divine care."
Sathis responded in kind. "If it pleases the Divine Mother, I ask that you bring me before the Sacred Patron of this temple. I need to speak with him in private."
"Our worship here is led by the Sacred Sister Trellian. What is it you wish to discuss with her?"
A Sacred Sister ... this was the first temple Sathis had encountered that was led by a woman. Somehow, that made him feel all the more pressured. From the corner of his eye, he knew that his mysterious follower had made it into the walls of the shrine as well.
"Please, bring me to her. I need to speak with her right away." He locked gazes with the monk. "... it concerns her safety."
The monk's expression changed instantly from a sedate calm to an anxious worry, beckoning Sathis forward. "As you wish, traveller - we have heard rumors of the ... attacks on other temples."
Sathis merely nodded and began following the robed man briskly, eyes darting wildly - almost like a trapped insect- scanning the layout of the building, looking to see if he could pin his stalker down. The monk made no attempt to converse as he quietly led Sathis through a series of hallways and up a flight of stairs, though the traveller could tell the monk was bursting with curiosity. Despite his plain robe and bald head, it was obvious the monk was young, probably no older than sixteen years.
Finally, the monk led him down a narrow corridor, to the last room. The door was plain wood, a contrast to the rest of the temple; the monk rapped his knuckles against it and spoke softly, though his tone could not shake its anxious quality. "Sacred Sister, I have brought someone who wishes to see you - he says it is of the utmost importance."
A woman's quiet voice responded just a few moments later. "Thank you, Pristin. Please bring him in."
Sathis could almost feel the other presence bearing down on his neck; he hastened after the monk as they gently swung open the door. As Sathis made his way in, Pristin hurried to shut and lock the door, then took a post in front of the only window in the room. Sathis would have found it hard to distinguish this space from a prison cell, if it were not for the window's size.
He scanned the room, standing as relaxed as he could, hands folded behind his back. Trellian was seated several feet away from Sathis and Pristin, eyes closed - deep in meditation. Sathis turned from the Sacred Sister to the young monk, examining each closely, before letting his gaze rest finally on the remarkably young woman to his side. Her hair was bound neatly in a bun that rested atop her head, and her robes were no more lavish than those of Prispin's, despite being his superior; Sathis had to wonder whether her plain dress was out of choice. Most of the Sacred he had encountered in the capital had worn carefully decorated garments, or at least, the leaders did.
Trellian opened her eyes; they were a soft grey, almost silver. She glanced up at Sathis inquiringly. "What news do you bring, traveller, that has our youngest monk so worried?"
Sathis' gaze jumped back to Pristin for a moment. The monk did seem overly anxious. "Nothing that will concern him for much longer."
Without warning, Sathis flung his outspread hands from behind his back, straight towards the speechless monk - a visible blast of force seemed to eject from his fingertips, lifting the wide-eyed monk off his feet, slamming him through the glass window behind him, and sending him spiraling to the snowy ravine below. Trellian lept to her feet in total shock and confusion, screaming over the sound of shattering glass: "How - what did you do?!!?"
Sathis didn't bother with more words. He turned his swift focus back on the intended target of his mission. With a smooth motion, he launched a second blast at the trembling Sacred Sister.
* * * * *
Sister Trellian had barely been able to tear her eyes away from the now-smashed window in her room before she noticed the stranger's menacing form readying another attack. Pristin was likely dead, and this man - this murderer - wanted her to join her pupil in the afterlife.
She saw the blast come, and spread her hands outward from her chest as quickly as she could; a shimmering golden veil seemed to follow in the wake of her gesture. The assassin's magic dissipated on impact, but nonetheless shook her to her core. Magic was the only weapon the Sacreds commanded, and it was only theirs to command. Only those of the highest devotion were gifted with its tutelage, and only by the God-Empress herself in person. The fact that the murderer inside her room was able to channel it meant either he had somehow mastered its power without the God-Empress' knowledge - or that he had betrayed her. Neither possibility was of any comfort to Trellian.
"You are the one. Good." The assassin lifted his hand, almost lazily now, and another wave of force burst from his fingertips.
Trellian was ready. The man's attack was crude, unrefined and unfocused - definitely not power that would have been learned from the Sacred. She brought her right arm forward to dispel the incoming magic, and with her left, she conjured the Sacreds' primary form of attack. Three spheres of blinding light swirled into coalescence, hovering within her palm like fireflies. As the assassin's attack faded into the air, Trellian brought her left hand forward, palm and spheres facing straight towards her attacker. The spheres erupted, ejecting concentrated beams of brilliant white energy straight at the assassin.
The man tumbled to the side, only barely dodging the Sacred magic; he landed in a crouched position, footing regained, firing off more blasts of crude force. If this was all he could muster, Trellian would have no problem incapacitating him, and then learning the truth of how he came to control the power reserved for the Sacreds. She negated each of his incoming attacks, almost effortlessly, sometimes only with a dismissive wave of her hand. In the distance, she could hear the rest of her pupils assembling, running down the long corridor to her quarters. It was about to be over.
"It's no use! Your magic is obviously no match for that of the God-Empress. Stand down, before you hurt yourself!"
The assassin merely smiled. Trellian would have thought he was handsome if he was not trying to kill her.
The sound of the Sacred rushing towards her chambers was growing louder, but Trellian could not shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong. The man in front of her did not seem to have any fear of being defeated, despite being obviously outmatched and soon hopelessly outnumbered. What was she missing?!
The man glanced at the ceiling above her, nodding once. Trellian followed his gaze, but saw nothing. As anxiety and frustration overtook her composure, she launched another blast of Sacred magic, this time with twice the intensity. To her shock, the assassin made no move to dodge or leap out of the way. He merely brought both his hands to his chest, jutting them out forward from his body. Trellian's attack was completely nullified; her sacred light was bending, crackling and contorting, not hitting its intended target, but enveloping him in an eerie glow before smashing into the wall behind him harmlessly.
Trellian stood dumbstruck. Such power ... it's impossible!
The assassin wasted no time in taking advantage of the Sacred Sister's shock. He strode forward as fast as he could and fired off another burst of magic force. Trellian could not react quickly enough; the blast hit her straight in the gut, sending her flying backwards. Suddenly, as she flew through the air, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her chest. She slammed into something - not the wall as she had expected - but, another body. Had her monks arrived? She no longer knew if even all of them together would be enough to defeat this murderer.
The pain in her back had spread to the front of her chest. What was it? Time ground to a halt as her head seemed to be swimming through molasses to understand what had just happened. Her chin finally touched her neck and she saw it. There, through her chest, was a bloody sword.
A hand pushed down and forward against her back, and the blade withdrew from her body. Trellian half-gasped, half-choked on her own blood. She collapsed to the ground, eyes still open as she watched the two figures come together to stand over her body.
"You're getting lazy - I spotted you too many times bringing you here." The first assassin did not seem pleased, but Trellian's murderer did not seem to pay him any attention. He busied himself wiping her blood off his sword.
"Heh. I was half-hoping some of these fool monks would spot me. Where is the fun in this if things go exactly as planned?"
"This is no game! You will fall into line, or I will -- "
" -- you'll what?! I don't answer to you, Sathis. You should take care to remember that."
The voices grew dimmer, but the figures didn't seem to be moving; Trellian struggled to continue listening even as her life's blood leaked out of her. Was this how it was to end for her? A failure to her Order, unable to see Pristin or any of the monks under her care grow to be their full potential? Trellian could not help but wonder if the God-Empress would accept her soul into paradise.
A crash against the door told Trellian that her students had finally arrived. Too late. Trellian could hear them as if through a great corridor, their frantic shouts muddled. The two assassins made their way to the window, leaping out as if the fall was of no concern. The last thing Trellian could make out was the one named Sathis; his body seemed to shudder and distort as it lept out the window.
Then, there was nothing but black.
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